SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Jamar Deontae Barnes, 43, of Stockton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd to 16 years and eight months in prison for conspiracy to manufacture and distribute pills laced with fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other drugs, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine-laced pills, Acting U.S...

Greenbelt, Maryland – After a seven-day trial, a federal jury returned a verdict against OJ Rashad Green, also known as “Ice” age 36, of Accokeek, finding him guilty of knowingly and intentionally distributing fentanyl, a controlled substance, on multiple occasions. The guilty verdict was announced by Phil Selden, Acting United...

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on February 3, 2025, Nitin Mishra, 33, of Jaipur, India, was sentenced for conspiring to distribute controlled substances and distributing controlled substances, including the opioids Tapentadol and Tramadol, in connection with his involvement...

WASHINGTON – A federal court ordered an Elkin, North Carolina, pharmacy to pay a $500,000 penalty and enjoined the pharmacy and its pharmacists from dispensing controlled substances, including opioids, without taking steps to help ensure the drugs will not be abused or diverted. The consent decree resolves a complaint filed...

FRESNO, Calif. — Ifeanyi Vincent Ntukogu, 49, of Fresno, was sentenced today to seven years and three months in prison for illegally distributing oxycodone and hydrocodone. Ntukogu was a pharmacist in Madera who dispensed more than 450,000 oxycodone and hydrocodone pills based on fraudulent prescriptions, all in exchange for cash...

Baltimore, Maryland – Erek L. Barron, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland and Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, announced that their agencies have formed the Maryland Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Task Force (“MFFOTF”). The alarming rate of overdoses in Maryland has...

HOUSTON - Charges have been unsealed as part of a larger enforcement action related to the unlawful distribution of nearly 70 million opioid pills and over 30 million doses of other commonly abused prescription drugs to alleged Houston-area pill-mill pharmacies. Three Houston-area pharmacy operators were also charged for their role...

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho--Scott Higgins, 57, of Coeur d’Alene, was sentenced yesterday on charges for theft from a program receiving federal funds and acquiring controlled substances by fraud, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. Both charges relate to a drug diversion scheme that Higgins carried out over multiple years while employed...

POCATELLO – Dr. Gerald Knouf, a family medicine doctor formerly of Pocatello, Idaho, agreed to pay $96,000 to resolve allegations that he wrote unlawful prescriptions, prescribed dangerous combinations of drugs, and billed Medicare and Medicaid for services that were not performed, U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit announced today. The settlement also...

OAKLAND, Calif. – Parto Karimi, a former Bay Area doctor, has been sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for distributing powerful opioids outside the scope of medical practice, announced United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), San Francisco Field Division, Special Agent...